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Willa Cather's Birthplace

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c. 1800, c. 1870. Northwestern Pike, 0.5 miles west of Knob Rd., 0.5 miles east of Gore
  • (Virginia Department of Historic Resources)

This unassuming weatherboarded log and frame house was the birthplace of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Willa Cather. Although Cather and her parents lived at Willow Shade (FR48), located a short distance to the east, she was born in this house that belonged to her maternal grandmother, Rachel E. Boak. Originally a one-room log cabin (the two bays on the left), the house was enlarged with a three-bay frame addition. Devoid of architectural decoration except for louvered shutters and a later small front porch, Cather's birthplace is typical of many houses in the area.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Anne Carter Lee
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Data

What's Nearby

Willow Shade
Old Frederick County Poor Farm
Cherry Row
Museum of the Shenandoah Valley
The Hexagon House

Citation

Anne Carter Lee, "Willa Cather's Birthplace", [Gore, Virginia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VA-02-FR47.

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